Leafs, Franson Ready For Arbitration War

We’re closing in arbitration season, folks! It’s that wonderful time of the year where players invent things to brag about as a means of countering the character assassinations that teams give in order to keep guys for cheaper.

In a little while, we’ll have Jake Gardiner and James Reimer, but the first of the bunch appears to be Cody Franson. It seems that every year he has a confusing and tiring contract situation attached to him, but this time, we’ll get a relatively quick ending.

It’s probably going to be bloody, though. With two days remaining, the Leafs are looking for his salary to be set at $2,000,000, while Franson is looking for $4,200,000.

I feel like both sides are off base in this situation, which, I mean, is pretty much a given in an arbitration setting. Of the two though, the Leafs are likely further off. While Franson had an underwhelming season this past year, he still has a careers worth of high-end 5 on 5 production numbers. Past the 300 game mark of his career, you’d think he’d be making beyond $2 million. Especially as you approach UFA years.

On the subject of UFA years, the only way the Leafs avoid that headache is by settling on a multi-year deal ahead of the hearing. Any ruling will involve a 1 year contract, which will carry him to unrestricted status in 2015.

How does a player become eligible for arbitration?
The CBA sets forth specific criteria for a player’s eligibility for arbitration. The first prohibition on electing arbitration is based on the player’s age at the time he first signs a standard player contract (SPC).2 Players aged 18-20 require four years of professional experience (defined as ten games at the NHL level per year). 21-year-old players are required to have three years of professional experience. 22-23-year-olds are required to have two years of professional experience, and players aged 24 and above are mandated to have one year of professional experience. Above age 20, professional experience is measured by “professional games,” which includes any professional games in North America or elsewhere.

A player must meet the age/experience criteria, be a restricted free agent, and must not have signed an offer sheet in order to be eligible.

I remember thinking last season that the Leafs should try to sign Franson for four years at 4 per and was very surprised that he got a lot less and that they didn’t seem to be interested in him long term. The saga continues…

I think we’ll miss him when he’s gone. He has a really good shot from the point and can be a really good physical player (albeit the moments of his imposing physicality have been rare lately). He’s definitely not getting the respect he deserves from the organization and it shows on the ice. I feel that he’ll elevate his game as soon as he’s out of Toronto. I hope we can get something of consequence for him in a trade.

I like Franson, he played great with Gardner during our playoff run 2 years ago. If Carlyle goes, hopefully Hitchcock comes in & Franson will show what he’s really worth. If he gets traded hopefully he’ll go to a team that plays a decent system. Leafs are rich in defensive prospects but need to keep their decent ones they have now until better ones are ready.